Closing remarks were punctuated by expert testimony in a murder trial on Sept. 3 Baltimore City Circuit Court before Judge Alan Lazerow.4
Devin Ash, 46 stands accused of first-degree murder in the shooting of Marlon Pugh, 35, initially on the corner 4th and Patapsco Streets Mchasing him down and killing him on the 3700 block of 5th Street
A ballistic specialist testified that there were 18, 38 caliber cartridges and casings recovered from the crime scenes, but admitted on cross-examination that they couldn’t determine whether the fragments and the bullets came from the same gun.
The Judge clarified there was evidence there was a second gun from the shell-casings, and that the bullets could have potentially come from either gun.
An FBI agent was called to determine the suspect’s location based on cell phone transmissions and cell towers. He was able to identify cell phone calls from the defendant’s phone at the time of the shooting that were found within the general vicinity of the crime scenes.
However on cross-examination he admitted that even though it was possible to tell who was making the calls he didn’t obtain that information. Also he could not pinpoint phone exact locations, just the general vicinity of the calls.
The witness admitted it was also likely that the defendant could have been at the barbershop at the time as he claimed, or at home, which were both located in the general area as well.
The prosecution’s closing arguments focused on the video footage taken during the day of the incident, which allegedly showed the defendant in the area and heading towards the crime scene.
Surveillance video of the incident allegedly showed the defendant shooting at the victim five times before retreating to his bike to retrieve a second weapon to continue firing. The prosecutor said the attack continued as the victim fled and the defendant allegedly gave chase, with surveillance video capturing the audio of an additional five shots made at the second and final location.
He pointed to physical evidence including a pair of New Balance sneakers that were found at the defendant’s home, similar to what the shooter’s in the video. wearing In addition, the prosecutor outlined tattoos on Ash’s hands which prosecution claims were shown in the surveillance video
Meanwhile, defense attorney, Michael Temko, focused on what he called glaring inconsistencies in the prosecution’s account. He pointed to the fact there was no weapon recovered.He further argued that there was no pertinent evidence found by the prosecution in the defendant’s home, car, and on the initial crime scene.
He said the images of the alleged shooter weren’t clear enough to identify his client, arguing that his hoodie would have shown his client’s distinctive locks.
He argued that the detective’s description was too general for an accurate identification. He also noted that cell phone tracking data was just as likely to show his defendant being uninvolved and elsewhere during the incident.
Deliberations were set to continue on Sept. 3.
